Four inmates flee prison

Four inmates flee prison

BANDUNG: Four prisoners jailed for drug-related crimes managed to
break out of Banceuy Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, early on
Tuesday an official said.

Their escape was discovered during a routine inspection at
5.30 a.m., warden Muqowinul said.

He said the four had fled their room from the window using
wooden planks and several sarongs tied together with rope.

The inmates were identified as Kamir Santosa, 31, Erwin
Bahrudin, 26, Yakob Santo Siadari, 27, and Gerry Susanto, 23.

They were serving sentences ranging from between eight months
and nine years.

West Bandung Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Edi Mulyono said
there were indications that the prisoners were aided by prison
guards.

He made the statement after police officers questioned the
prison guards in charge.

Muqowinul said it was the second breakout after another
convicted drug dealer from Aceh province fled Banceuy prison in
February 2003. --JP

Mob rampages steel plant

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: An angry mob attacked a steel plant
in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Tuesday, which they blamed for
polluting their neighborhood.

The attack on PT Bawaraja took place following an explosion at
the factory earlier in the morning, which prompted at least 200
residents to throng the compound.

The rioters damaged the factory's windows, its office
equipment and cars.

Baco, chief of the factory's security guards, said the attack
was launched suddenly, when about 100 employees were working at
the rear of the plant, so that nothing could be done to prevent
it.

He admitted that local residents had protested several times
against the plant's operation and for the pollution it produced.

"We guarantee that there is no pollution because we have waste
processing facilities and high chimneys," Baco claimed.

Commenting on the explosion that triggered the attack, he said
it came from the plant's iron processing residue dump, which
might have resulted from a water spill, but added that it was
harmless. --JP

Fishermen complain of drop in fish prices

INDRAMAYU, West Java: Thousands of fishermen in West Java's
north coast regencies of Indramayu and Subang have complained
about plummeting fish prices, at a time when their catch is
bountiful.

Leaders of the local village cooperative (KUD) attributed the
slump to the abundant catch, as some 30,000 people in Indramayu
and 20,000 others in Subang were engaged in fishing.

Engkos, who chairs the KUD Mina Muara in Ciasem subdistrict,
Subang, said on Tuesday the prices of different fish dropped by
as much as 50 percent as the catch kept swelling.

He also blamed brokers who bought fish from fishermen at very
low prices.

According to Engkos, the fishermen had no choice but to sell
their catch cheaply because they had to repay debts they owed to
the brokers.

He said the KUD was now striving to jack up the price by
appealing to fishermen to sell their fish to cooperatives instead
of brokers.

The protesting fishermen also urged the government to help
increase the price of fish so they would be able to make a
living.--JP